Projectile weapons, especially personal firearms, such as rifles, shotguns and pistols, are typically aimed at targets using some form of sighting device. In this regard, the sighting device is typically fixed to the gun in alignment with the sight line of the gun barrel. In such a manner, the gun's barrel may be brought to bear on a visually acquired target so that a high likelihood exists that the target will be hit when the gun is discharged.
In copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/038,065 filed on Mar. 11, 1998 (the entire content of which is expressly incorporated hereinto by reference), there are disclosed gun sights which include one or more rod-shaped light guides. In preferred embodiments, the gun sights of the copending '065 patent application include one or more light guides that are formed from a suitable optically clear plastics material and dyed or colored with a fluorescent pigment to enhance their visibility. While the gun sights disclosed in the copending '065 patent application are entirely satisfactory for daylight gun sightings, their use at night is limited due to the minimal amount of ambient light that is usually available.
Recently, in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/287,100 filed on Apr. 7, 1999, the entire content of which is incorporated hereinto by reference, there are disclosed combination day and night weapon sighting devices which necessarily include at least one rod-shaped light guide and a visible self-luminescent capsule closely vertically adjacent thereto. These disclosed day/night sights are suitably employed in daylight and night conditions, but require slightly different "zero" ranges due to the vertical mounting of the day sighting member and the night sighting member. In other words, if the day sighting members are range-zeroed, then the night sighting members deviate from the zero aiming point requiring the marksman to adjust his aim accordingly.
It would therefore be quite desirable if a combination day/night sighting device could be provided which minimizes (if not eliminates entirely) these problems. That is, it would be highly desirable if a combination day/night sight could be employed that does not require different range-zeroed aiming points. It is towards providing such an improved sighting device that the present invention is directed.
Broadly, the present invention is embodied in a combination day and night sight which is comprised of a sight element which includes a rod-shaped light guide, and a self-luminescent capsule integrally co-located within an end of the light guide. Most preferably, the self-luminescent capsule is coaxially embedded in a rear end of the light guide so that an annular region of the light guide surrounds entirely the visible face of the capsule. As such, the light guide may be used for daylight sighting purposes and the self-luminescent capsule may be used for night sighting purposes without substantial (if any) adjustment of their respective "zeroed" aiming points.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more clear from the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiments thereof.